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Perfect Standing Rib Roast
Dinner menu (left to right) Cucumber Tomato Salad, Perfect Gravy, Standing Rib Roast, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Spinach Raspberry Salad.
This recipe came from Chef Michael Symon and I don’t think I’ve changed much, except I don’t use as much rosemary and thyme (about half). I’ve been using it for several years and every time it is perfect.
From Michael Symon on The Chew:
GARLIC & HERB CRUSTED STANDING RIB ROAST
1 standing beef rib roast (7 to 8 pounds, rack of ribs separated from roast)
4 cloves garlic (smashed and made into a paste)
2 sprigs rosemary (leaves removed and finely chopped, plus more)
4 sprigs thyme (leaves removed and finely chopped, plus more)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups red wine
1/2 cup beef stock
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Season the roast and rack of ribs with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Remove the rib roast to room temperature 1 hour prior to roasting. Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
In a medium bowl, add garlic, herbs and 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, to form a loose paste. Coat the roast and ribs with the herb oil and season with more cracked black pepper. Using kitchen twine, tie the roast every 2-3 inches to secure shape.
In a roasting pan, place the rack of ribs with the ends pointing up. Place a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme on top of the rack. Place the roast, fat-side-up inside the rack of ribs so they act as a roasting rack. Pour the wine and beef stock in to the bottom of the pan underneath the roast.
Place in the bottom half of the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF and continue to cook for another 1 ½- 2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the roast is 125ºF for medium-rare. During the cooking process, baste the meat with the pan juices every 30 minutes. If the pan starts to get dry, add a little more stock or water.
Remove the roast to a cutting board to rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Separate the ribs and thinly slice the roast. Serve with pan juices.
Tip: for ultimate flavor, season the roast and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
If you’d like some personal instruction, click here for video of Michael preparing it.
No Really, I’m Still Here and I’m Still Cooking: Sautéed Sausages and Pasta
I’ve been cooking up some great recipes almost daily, but finding the time to put together recipe posts has been difficult. And forget remembering to take photos. Pictured above is Easter dinner, which I did remember to snap. Mostly because as I went to cook the rib roast, I realized I have never transcribed my go-to recipe for this perfect rib roast. I will remedy that in the coming week.
We had snow today, so yesterday before I even sat down to work, I spent time cutting flowers for vases and covering up plants I didn’t want to lose. So there wasn’t a lot of time to think about dinner. Luckily, I had a few items in the frig that needed to be used, so first up for dinner:
Sautéed Sausages and Pasta
- 1 lb sausage links – I used bratwurst this time, Italian sausages work great, too
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 yellow pepper, sliced
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried basil, crushed
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 10 oz dried spaghetti (works best with that, but if you have another style on hand, go for it)
skillet and saucepan
Slice sausages into 2 inch pieces.
Prepare pasta according to package directions, but drain when just Al Dente, you want it a bit under cooked, because it will continue to cook and soak up the sauce in the next step. Reserve the pasta water.
While pasta is cooking, heat oil in skillet, reduce to medium-hi heat, add vegetables and saute until softened. Then add sausage pieces and brown. Reduce heat to medium and cover until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Once sausage is cooked through, add a ladle of pasta water to the pan to deglaze and create a sauce – add more as needed – and stir until well mixed and cook on medium high for a minute or two, reduce heat. Add drained pasta. Toss and let it all cook together on low for about 3-5 minutes to let the pasta soak up the sauce. Add a bit more pasta water if needed.
Serve with Parmesan cheese and salad.
Since it was going to be cold today, I decided soup would be a great idea. I made a traditional Potato Soup (recipe here) but since I had leftover carrots and potatoes from a pot roast earlier in the week, I blended those together with the milk, omitted the flour, and made the tastiest creamy soup base. The flavors were amazing and it was perfect for a cold snowy spring day.
Happy Easter From My Two Easter Danes (Bonus Bixby Puppy Pics!)
It took some doing but I was finally able to snap a picture of the elusive Dabbit’s that live in my backyard.
They really aren’t as unhappy as they look…it’s all fun and games until I tell them to hold.
I’m getting ready to put the rib roast in the oven. We’re keeping it simple today with garlic mashed potatoes, and cucumber tomato salad and a spinach walnut salad. Easter candy for dessert.
When I downloaded the bunny ear photos, somehow a file full of Bixby puppy pictures showed up. I don’t remember seeing most of them. He was 8 weeks old. OMG! That face. Those wrinkles. And that tag is the same one he wears today…which is conspicuously missing in today’s photo. Time to buy a new one – no idea where or when it disappeared.
That is Jake’s bunny and he is not amused. No one touches his rabbit. Which is why 2 1/2 years later, that bunny is still in one piece on my bed.
Happy Easter everyone. Here is to new beginnings!
Valentine’s Day Cornish Game Hen Dinner Menu
I think going out for dinner on Valentine’s Day is a fool’s errand. Better a quiet dinner at home. This is surprisingly quick and easy for a weeknight holiday. Flourless Chocolate Torte (above and recipe here) is on the actual menu tonight.
In case you’re feeling really ambitious, click here for JeffreyW’s wonderful stuffing recipe. And if you’re looking for a more elegant dessert for Valentine’s Day try this recipe for Raspberry-Chocolate Cupcakes in Raspberry Sauce.
On the board tonight:
- Cornish Game Hens w/Stuffing
- Buttered Peas and Carrots
- Tossed Salad
- Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Cornish Game Hens
- 2 pkgs. stuffing mix
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- ½ cup boiling water or chicken broth
- 4 Cornish game hens, cut in half *
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 tsp crushed rosemary
- 2 tsp sage
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
9×13 glass baking dish
Add stuffing mix, 2 tbsp melted butter and boiling water to baking dish, stir & spread evenly over bottom of baking dish. Lay hens cut side down over stuffing (it’s a tight fit, but you should be able to get all 8 halves in the 13×9 pan). Melt remaining butter, add spices and mix well. Brush some over hens and continue to baste every 10-15 minutes while baking. Bake at 350 to 375° until internal temperature is 175 ° about 45 minutes. Remove, cover loosely with foil and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4
*Hens will have to thawed completely and you’ll need a sharp knife to cut them in half. You can check with your butcher to see if they’ll cut them for you. If you don’t want to cut them in half, cook them whole and allow 1 hour 10 minutes cooking time.
Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Preheat oven to 375°
- ¾ cup chunky peanut butter
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 ¾ cup flour
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 13-16 oz bag Hershey’s Kisses
2 bowls and baking sheet
Combine peanut butter, butter, sugar, milk and vanilla in bowl. Beat with mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add egg, beat until blended. In small bowl, combine flour, salt & soda. Add to creamed mixture at low-speed until just blended (don’t over mix). Scrape sides and bottom and make sure all flour is mixed. Drop by heaping teaspoon full onto baking sheet, unwrap kisses and press 1 into each cookie. Bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove to racks and cool.
Shopping List:
- 2 pkgs. stuffing mix
- 2 sticks butter
- 4 Cornish game hens, cut in half if possible
- chunky peanut butter
- 1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 13-16 oz bag Hershey’s Kisses
- 1 egg
- 16 oz bag frozen peas and carrots
- Tossed salad ingredients
Also: rosemary, sage, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, milk, flour, baking soda, chicken broth
Stir Fry Dinner Menu: Orange Chicken and Broccoli
I’m not big on deep frying anything, but I love orange chicken so I wanted to find a way to make it so it was still crisp without all the oil and breading. I found the perfect ingredient to produce that result: potato starch. I’ve been using it for a while now and it makes the most perfect Oven Baked Chicken – I’ve been substituting it for the bread crumbs, combining it with crushed rice chex – I’ll post an updated recipe on that technique this week.
I thought it might have the same effect on pan frying chicken pieces. It did. Crispy, light and flavorful. Of course top anything with enough orange sauce and I’m there.
On the board tonight:
- Pan-Fried Orange Chicken
- Rice or Rice Noodles
- Steamed Broccoli
Pan-Fried Orange Chicken
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 tsp to 1 tbsp sriracha or chili sauce (opt)
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp white or rice vinegar
- 1 tsp corn starch
bowl
Mix together in bowl and set aside
Chicken:
- 1 lb chicken boneless breast (or thighs), cut into large chunks
- olive oil
- 1 cup potato starch
- salt and pepper
- 6 green onions, chopped – save 1 tbsp of chopped greens for garnish
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds for garnish
- 2 tbsp oil (more as needed)
2 plates, skillet or wok
Add salt and pepper to potato starch. Drizzle a bit of oil over chicken pieces to coat. Dredge in potato starch mixture and move to clean plate. Finish all chicken before cooking.
I used to have a wok, but never got the results I wanted from it. Then I heard Ming Tsai discuss how a skillet works better in regular kitchens because a wok really needs a commercial heat source to get it hot enough to cook the way it is designed. Got rid of my wok and use my skillet now. So don’t feel you need a wok to stir-fry things.
Heat oil and add onions (whites and green) quickly stir until they have softened (about 1 minutes) and then add chicken pieces – one at a time so they all touch oil/skillet surface. You may have to cook chicken in two batches depending on the size of your pan.
Fry until golden on one side, then flip to brown the other side. Then I tossed it around a bit until it was golden on all sides.
If you cooked in two batches, remove first batch to clean plate and cook the second batch. Add all chicken back to pan, coat with Orange Sauce and toss until it’s all coated. Let sauce heat through thoroughly over low heat. Serve with rice (or noodles), garnish with sesame seeds and onion greens.
Christmas Eve Dinner Menu: Dessert Tray, Pt 1
With the dinner menu being fairly simple, I’ve spent the week baking desserts. I started with Spritz Cookies. I used this recipe, and then I divided the dough in half. I added 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, about a 1/4 cup extra flour (a little at a time until it was workable dough again) and 2 tsp of lemon zest. I dusted those with powder sugar when done. The other batch was just the yummy butter half of the dough.
Next up, this cake. I had leftover Cranberry-Apple Sauce from Thanksgiving, which I froze with this recipe in mind. It made for a very tasty fruit bottom. Here’s the original recipe:
Cranberry Upside Down Cake
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups cranberries, chopped*
- ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp orange zest (rind)
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup milk
Topping
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1-1/2 tbsp orange juice (more as needed)
- 2 tsp butter, softened
8×8 glass baking dish & mixing bowl
Preheat oven to 350°
Melt 3 tbsp of butter and pour into baking dish, spread to cover bottom and up the sides. Add ½ cup sugar, mix with butter on bottom of pan. Add cranberries & walnuts, spread over bottom of pan. Cream remaining butter & sugar, add vanilla, egg, orange zest, mix well. Add flour, baking powder & milk, mix until well blended, don’t over mix. Pour batter over cranberry mixture. Bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown and center bounces back at the touch. Invert on plate. Let cool.
Topping: Mix together butter, orange juice & powdered sugar, pour over cake and serve.
* if you don’t have a food processor, you can leave cranberries whole.
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I’m not done yet. I’ll be baking more later this week, so stay tuned….
Dinner Menu: Cream of Potato Cheese Soup And Blueberry Crisp
![DSC_5785 [1600x1200]](https://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/dsc_5785-1600x1200.jpg)
Yummy JeffreyW photo
I have an abundance of potatoes that I need to use up. I’m loving my convection oven because I can bake up potatoes in about 30 minutes. So that’s using up a few. And I’m having guests over for pot roast on Sunday, which will use up a few more.
Still, I have a big bag of potatoes from my brother’s garden that I don’t want to go to waste. It’s blustery cold here, so soup sounded like a great idea. So creamy potato soup (mmm, with cheese) it is, with a complete dinner menu, to boot.
On the board:
- Cream of Potato Cheese Soup
- Orange-Walnut Spinach Salad
- Blueberry Crisp
Cream of Potato Cheese Soup
- 6 large potatoes, cubed (peeling opt)
- 2 cups water
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tsp crushed garlic
- ½ tsp ea: sage, rosemary, basil
- 4 cups milk
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- 4 tbsp flour
- 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
- salt & pepper to taste
Lg. saucepan (2 to 4 qt)
In saucepan or Dutch oven, cover potatoes with water and boil until fork tender, drain all but 2 cups water. Add onions, garlic and spices to potatoes*. In a bowl mix together milk, flour, salt & pepper. Mix well, no lumps, add melted butter. Add to potatoes and mix well. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly, add cheese, reduce to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
*A great trick is to remove about ½ cup of the cooked potatoes and mash, then add back into soup, this gives you an extra creamy texture.
Orange-Walnut Spinach Salad
- 10 oz spinach, washed
- 2 oranges, peeled, remove white skin & cut into chunks (you can substitute equivalent canned mandarin orange slices)
- ½ red onion, sliced in rings
- 1 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- Raspberry-walnut dressing
large salad bowl
Tear spinach leaves. Layer in a large salad bowl. Top with orange chunks, onion, sprinkle blue cheese and walnuts. Add dressing & toss before serving.
Blueberry Crisp
Topping:
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
Combine dry ingredients and cut in butter until mixture is crumbly
Filling:
- 1 tbsp butter, melted and spread on bottom of baking dish
- 16 oz frozen blueberries
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup sugar
- dash of lemon juice
8×8 baking dish, greased
Combine blueberries, sugar, lemon juice & cornstarch. Spread in buttered baking dish. Top fruit mixture with flour topping. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes, until top is golden and blueberries are bubbly.
Shopping List:
- 6 large potatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 red onion
- 4 cups milk
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 10 oz spinach
- 2 oranges
- 1 oz bleu cheese,
- 4 oz chopped walnuts
- Raspberry-walnut dressing
- 1 stick + 3 tbsp butter
- 12 oz frozen blueberries
Also: cornstarch, sugar, brown sugar, flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, sage, rosemary, basil, garlic
Friday Recipe Exchange: Thanksgiving Files
![_DSC5565 [1024x768]](https://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/dsc5565-1024x768.jpg)
Is this thing on? I know it’s been forever – the house, work and puppies have taken most of my time. Cooking lately is mostly just for sustanance, nothing terribly creative. But Thanksgiving is almost here! Time to get cookin’.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, next to 4th of July. Food, family, friends…and leftovers. I’m going to have a house full this year and I’m excited to host. Although I wasn’t expecting to have a puppy thrown in the mix, but that just makes it more interesting. I have compiled some of my most requested holiday recipes for tonight’s exchange.
JefferyW makes Cornbread Stuffing, (pictured above) part 1 here and part 2 here.
Roasted Butternut Apple Soup makes a great starter, recipe here.
Hearty Garlic Mashed Potatoes, click here – my family loves these, though the first time I made them they mocked me until they were served because the cooking method is so unusual. I cook them early and keep them warm in a slow-cooker while everything else cooks and stove top space is at a premium.
Two Brussels Sprout dishes: Pan Roasted with Pancetta and Onions (recipe here) and JeffreyW’s Brussels Sprout and Potato Au Gratin (click here)
There will be a variety of pies this year, but instead of the traditional Pumpkin Pie, I’m making Pumpkin Cream Pie (above), the recipe is here, plus there are additional pumpkin dessert ideas at the link.
For the main course, we’ve made turkeys a bunch of ways here, including a Spatchcock Turkey, recipe here. For something more traditional, here are some ideas from people smarter than I am: turkey four different ways, good stuff here.
What’s on the menu for your Thanksgiving this year? Do you have a must-have recipe for your holiday dinner?
I’m not a fan of traditional candied sweet potatoes, so tonight’s featured recipes are some non-traditional styles for sweet potatoes.
Cajun Sweet Potatoes
- 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- ¼ tsp cumin (opt)
Covered casserole dish, well-greased
Steamer and saucepan
In saucepan, add water, steamer and sweet potatoes. Steam until you can easily stick a fork in them. They don’t need to be completely soft. About 10-15 minutes. Add sweet potatoes to casserole dish. Combine oil, butter and spices. Pour evenly over potatoes. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until potatoes are soft. You can adjust cooking time if you prefer your firmer or softer potatoes.
Sweet Potatoes w/Apples
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
- ¼ cup water
- 2 apples, cored & sliced
- 8 oz can sliced pineapple (including liquid)
- 2 tsp butter
- ½ cup orange juice
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
2 qt casserole dish, greased
Add ingredients to casserole dish. Stir gently and bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes, uncovered, until apples and potatoes are very soft. Cover if it begins to brown too much
That’s it for this week. I hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. – TaMara
Loving My Grape Vines And The Jelly, Too
My Concord grape vines are still bringing happiness with their vivid fall colors.
Making Grape Jelly was much easier than I thought. I was intimidated at first, because my experience with Apple Butter was painful. Jelly was much easier.
Probably the most difficult part was separating the grapes from the stems. I did a bunch at a time over a few days, so it wasn’t terribly tedious. Once they were free from stems, I whipped them through the VitaMix and then ran them through a fine sieve. That was enough to keep the flavor of the skins, but separate them from the seeds.
I made four batches as the grapes ripened in nice small batches. I decided to go with a low-sugar pectin (this one) because LFern had a box and gave it to me. Come to find out, it is one of the few without added sugar in the pectin itself. The grapes were sweet enough that I’m glad I did. There is only about a tablespoon of sugar per jar.
Calcium water is used to help set the jelly. It has a smoother texture than regular jelly. Also, because there is so much less sugar, the color is deeper and not as jewel toned as high sugar jelly. Turns out it’s all that sugar that gives it the vibrant, clear hues.
It only took about five minutes cooking from start to finish. Since I was freezing it instead of canning, that was it for cooking. The finished product lasts for up to a year in the freezer and about two weeks once thawed and refrigerated.
It is delicious and I cannot wait for next year’s harvest. I’m not including a recipe because it’s best to follow the one that is included with your pectin. In my research it appears each one has different ratio of ingredients to get the best texture and flavor.
Anyone else make jams and jellys this fall? How about wine? I gave way almost as many as I picked to someone who was going to make wine. Can’t wait to hear how it came out.
